My grandfather Amund Amundsen Anvik emigrated in 1908, taking the Lusitania from Stavanger, Norway, to New York’s Ellis Island. He briefly was a fisherman in Seattle, then homesteaded a 360-acre farm in Montana. In 1909 his wife, Ingeborg Johnesdatter, and their daughter, Kristine Gunhild, joined him.
Arthur John, my dad, was born in 1910. When he started first grade, he spoke only Norwegian. For years I had the pleasure of going to my grandparents’ farm, always enjoying their Norwegian foods and accents. They died too soon, and I never got to appreciate them when I was an adult, but I dreamed of visiting Norway. Dad encouraged this interest, often reciting the Norwegian table prayer at special family events.
In 2001 I finally went. I met Lars Eike, my second cousin,…